The 1 Percent Have Won 95 Percent Of The Recovery, So Let’s Cut Food Stamps!

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A new paper by UC Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez and the Paris School of Economics’ Thomas Piketty quantifies something that most economists and politicians should be aware of: The recovery has been amazing — for the richest.

The trend of the 1 percent sucking up most of the economy’s raw growth — this study doesn’t account for pension and health care benefits, which are also in decline — has been getting worse and worse for decades, as a result of government policy. But in the last five years the rich have been devouring 95 percent of the economic recovery.

The House of Representatives is expected Thursday to take up a proposal which could make somewhere between 4 and 6 million Americans ineligible for full SNAP benefits, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Called the Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act, the law would reduce SNAP funding by $40 billion over the next decade—nearly double the $20.5 billion which House Republicans originally tried to cut out of the food stamp program two months ago.

23 responses to “The 1 Percent Have Won 95 Percent Of The Recovery, So Let’s Cut Food Stamps!”

i’m pretty sure the irony in the idea that House politicians who spends more days in the year away on vacation and on business lunches than in actual session saying poor people have it easy is as thick as frozen concrete

I am not surprised. The only time the wealthiest members of our society were adversely impacted was during the Great Recession and, to a lesser extent, during the 2007 recession. Conversely, the only time the middle class benefitted from an economic boom was in the Clinton era, when 23 million jobs were created and new technologies (the dot com) had a positive impact on all sectors of our economy. Otherwise, out government policies, our international agreements, our tax rates, tax loopholes, our unacceptable minimum wage, the ability of American corporations to hire part timers to avoid offering benefits, and our entire socio-economic system is designed to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Incredibly, most Americans accept the status quo, and often the abuse we are subjected to by unscrupulous employers, as part of life or something unavoidable. Nothing will change until the majority of our population says enough is enough, and demands their fair share of the huge profits our employers make.

That kind of skullduggery never lasts. History proves that money always runs out. The only reason these hot shots have managed to keep control of the country and government is because the government has refused to start taxing their offshore profits. There is more than $35 trillion sitting in offshore untaxed accounts.

The axis upon which the wealthy continue to grow their wealth is not here in the US. They’ve already decimated any potential growth here. They keep their eyes on the global markets where labor is cheap and they don’t have to be responsible to pay employee benefits of any kind. But look at that picture for what it is…China, India and Mexico’s economies are now stable. Ours isn’t.

So these geniuses have created their own Frankenstein monster that is about to descend upon them. When you stabilize foreign governments, you empower them to demand more to be equal with US. Now these foreign government contracts have already begun to rise in terms of payment for cheap labor and foreign privileges.

Americans will just begin to encourage smaller businesses and avoid the huge corporations who build nothing sell nothing and only know how to buy and sell companies. That’s vulture venture capitalism is why this country is in the mess it’s in.

I agree with your posting and I’m also surprised by the lack of outrage on the part of the middle class and the poor. Hopefully, there will soon be a reaction to the abuses and the situation will improve. Failing that, we may experience a violent revolution.

When you look long and hard at men in the House like Cantor, Ryan, Boehner, McConnell, Cornyn and Inhofe, you see little bois all pretending to be CEOs. They figure if it walks like a CEO, talks like a CEO, the government must, must, must be their corporation.

It’s ironic that Wells Fargo, Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are still not complying with banking rules set forth regarding foreclosures these banks created. This proves exactly what the middle class has always believed. The government fined these banks but now, they are still refusing to adhere to the new laws. Slaps on the wrists don’t work with the wealthy. It’s only when they go down in ignominy they learn the errors of their ways. This is true across the board for CEOs and the 1% who live off Wall Street gambling.

The GOP won’t be in power come 2014 or 2016. It will come down to how much Koch billionaires and their kith and kin will want to continue to spend to defy the Constitution to gain government control. They won’t. They know what a threat a very angry American mob can be.

The GOP reeks of corporate imagery and Americans don’t want a ruling class of white, middle aged hot shots playing CEO running our government. They are not what we elected. We gave them their jobs. We can also take them away. How stupid can the GOP be to think there won’t be blowback for the decade of austerity and hopelessness they’ve dumped on the lower and middle classes just so the 1% never have to worry about losing a dime?

There is no connection between your first and second paragraphs. The first deals with your pathological hatred of men, while the second deals with the criminal acts of the banking interests and our government’s failure to prosecute the miscreants.

Your third paragraph suggests vigilante action against the banking interests and the fourth paragraph descends again into your pathological hatred of men, which you seem to equate with the Republican Party.

I have a mental image of a middle aged woman frothing at the mouth as she furiously types her attacks on men in this web site.

Most CEO’s are men, men are paid more than women for the same jobs, most politicians are men and these same politicians are passing laws to force women to have invasive procedures to their bodies and taking away their right to decide what is best for their own bodies. Those are indisputable facts and not a put down of the male population.

Ducks are birds. Ducks can swim. Chickens are birds, therefore, they must be able to swim. Indisputable facts, not a put down of chickens. Do I understand you to say that a woman having a late term abortion of a viable baby is doing what is best for her body? Skipped logic in school, didn’t you?

Republicans have to be jumping for joy since their tax cuts helped the 1% go far above the rest. In fact they make 256% more than the middle class income. They want this ruling class because they think it is the last line of defense as America turns away from them. It is the Koch bros, Walton’s and their ilk who fund the republican party, and the party has returned the favor by pushing policies that favor the interests of this group.. Republicans are against immigration reform because they want this group to stay illegal, and to grovel for below minimum wage jobs forcing the lower middle class to compete and settle for less. Income inequality is a threat to our countries future since it is turning a democracy into an oligarchy where fewer people control the economic destiny of many. Now groups like the Koch bros of tea party creation fame are taking their fight for control to the state level through a new organization called ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange council. This council is made up of republican state elected officials and corporate leaders and has these corporations writing legislation which the republicans pass, that suits their own profit plans. Look at the Republican governors legislation and you can see this trend. Right to work(for less) is a corner stone of their economic plan. Look at the states and you will see in the Red ones that the growth of jobs is on the lower side of the economic scale with no benefits. While this will help the 1% it will put an incredible burden on the middle class to pay the costs of this policy. The policy is also short sighted since fewer will be able to afford the disposable income to stimulate the consumer driven economy so while local chambers of commerce usually vote republican, they are voting for their own demise. If the middle class keeps these governors in, it will be their demise too since they will be paying more for education and at the same time supporting the benefit less populations of their states. They will also be responsible for the environmental cleanups from industries like fracking which allows arsenic into the water table and can cause earthquakes in surrounding areas. The middle class is in a fight for it’s life and better wake up.

I see that this is a one sided blame game rather than ask to see that this is the natural result of the policies of the government – the whole government, not just one party.

The Dodd-Frank credit policies, the fact that we have no budget, the gridlock that makes any fiscal planning impossible, and the specter of future taxes have insured that the low interest rate and easy money policies of the Fed are only benefiting the government and the wealthy.

All of the uncertainties caused by the lack of a comprehensive government fiscal plan are deterring many businesses from expanding and creating opportunity for the middle and lower class. As a result, people like Warren Buffett can buy profitable Heinz with newly generated low interest debt. Microsoft, rather than counting on increased revenue from current products is buying Nokia’s handset business to get a bigger piece of the uncertain pie. The only opportunity in this environment if for the rich.

Is the answer to increase transfer payments? Are handouts ever going to be as beneficial to the non-rich as opportunity? I don’t think so.

Boy you bought into that load of manure about business being frightened because of uncertainty . Warren Buffett debunked that myth .If business has customers they will EXPAND . Period end of story . Rebuild our crumbling infrastructure . It is work that needs to be done and lots of people who would leap at the chance to earn some cash .

Warren Buffett debunked the “myth”? You should read some of the Federal Reserve notes. Someone may have closed your mind, but many of the Federal Reserve Governors don’t see it that way.

When a company commits to expand, they are looking for a longer time frame than some government stimulus. If there were a PLAN for infrastructure, if there were budgets that showed that the spending plan was SUSTAINABLE, then maybe companies could make expansion decisions. When the government spending is not planned or under control, even Warren Buffett will use his excess cash to acquire companies rather than expand the ones he has.

How does it make you feel when you read an article like the one above? That with graphs, and other data, consistent with hundreds of other previous studies that have been done, all showing the same thing. The wealth disparity is real, it’s pervasive, hurting millions of people, and it’s no accident. I’ll tell you how it makes me feel. It makes me angry! Angry, at the politicians who’ve sold their souls to allow it. But, more angry at the powerful, and connected people, who’ve bought them. I am constantly astounded at the size of the lies they use to explain their greed. But more so, that lies of such poor quality, would be so easily believed. I’m angered at the unfairness. But truly incensed, by the callous cruelty necessary to deny even the daily bread. Or, the indignation, often directed at me by my fellow citizens, for pointing it out. How dark does it get? I’m very concerned, because it’s hurting the Country. But I think I’m in the most danger of losing control of my emotions, when I think of the uselessness of it all. How unnecessary this all is, that we should find ourselves like this. So many things have gone so right for this Country. How is it we have gotten to the point we turn on our own values, our traditional religious tenants, and discard our moral compasses? If so, I would allow in the interest of at least being honest with ourselves. That we take part of the 60 billion slated to feed the hungry of our Nation. And erect a magnificent golden calf, in place of the Golden Eagle. Then, America can stand for something else, as long as she stands at all.

hey house, if you want a reduction of people collecting the stamps then you make sure non- custodial parents are paying their FAIRSHARE by modifying their court orders and making sure these non- custodials have jobs to pay for their children thats the start. i understand not every situation is the same but majority are struggling single parents not collecting child support or minimumscourt orders because they dont have a job. we have a system designed for 1% to have an advantage well then we need not to create more violence and poverty but show single parents a direction other than crime itself. the 1% have no clue as to how to make America prosper.

Failed Trickle Down economics is a cancer on society, and needs a serious dose of radiation therapy pronto. Corporate profits at record highs, the wealthiest gobbling up the vast majority of the “recovery”, and still unemployment is high, wages/hours/benefits are being cut, and the war on the Middle Class marches on.

Common sense will tell you that the results were inevitable. You cannot have half the nation dependent on government largess, enact programs that eliminate full time jobs in favor of part-time jobs, create policies/regulations that stagnant recovery and the creation of middle class jobs, and expect anything else. Don’t blame the successful or a party out of power. That is simply head in the sand action.